Chapter 6: The Shot That Changed Everything
The tiny red laser dot rested perfectly over Sarah's heart.
She never saw it.
Bella did.
The little girl looked up.
Her hazel eyes widened with terror.
Without thinking, she threw both arms around Sarah's waist.
"No!"
The word burst from Bella's mouth.
Loud.
Clear.
The sound froze everyone in the corridor.
Arthur stopped halfway up the stairs.
Sarah instinctively looked down.
"What is it?"
Bella shoved Sarah backward with surprising strength.
At that exact moment—
BANG!
The rifle shot shattered the hallway window.
Glass exploded across the marble floor.
The bullet tore through the air exactly where Sarah had been standing one second earlier.
It slammed into the stone wall behind her.
The impact echoed through the mansion.
"Sniper!"
The head of security tackled Sarah and Bella to the ground.
Arthur spun toward the broken window.
"Seal every window!"
"Find the shooter!"
Guards rushed in every direction.
Outside, panicked guests screamed as they heard the gunshot.
Luxury cars screeched to a stop near the front gate.
Reporters ducked behind flower beds.
The gala had descended into complete chaos.
Sarah's ears rang.
She looked at Bella.
The child was shaking uncontrollably.
But she was staring through the shattered glass.
Not frightened.
Recognizing something.
Arthur knelt beside her.
"Bella..."
She slowly raised one trembling finger.
She wasn't pointing outside.
She was pointing toward the mansion's rooftop.
Arthur immediately understood.
"The shooter never left."
He grabbed the security radio.
"Roof team!"
Static.
Nothing.
"Roof team, respond!"
Silence.
The head of security's face darkened.
"They're not answering."
Arthur looked at three of his men.
"With me."
Within seconds they were racing toward the upper floors.
Meanwhile...
The library doors slammed shut.
The captured intruder had been tied to a heavy leather chair.
Blood trickled from a cut above his eyebrow.
He wore a black security uniform with no identification.
Arthur stood silently across from him.
The room smelled of old books and gunpowder.
The intruder smiled through split lips.
"You should've let the nanny die."
Arthur didn't react.
"Who sent you?"
The man laughed.
"You already know."
Arthur leaned closer.
"Say her name."
The smile disappeared.
Instead, the man spat blood onto the Persian rug.
Arthur looked down at the stain.
Then back at the intruder.
"You're protecting Vanessa."
"No."
The man chuckled.
"I'm protecting myself."
Arthur's eyes narrowed.
"From who?"
The intruder leaned forward as far as the ropes allowed.
"You still think Vanessa is the mastermind."
Arthur remained silent.
The man smiled.
"She's just another employee."
Arthur's expression changed for the first time.
"What did you say?"
The intruder laughed harder.
"You really don't know."
"Know what?"
"Who owns this family."
Arthur grabbed the man's shirt.
"Talk."
The intruder lowered his voice.
"Ask your father."
Arthur's grip tightened.
"My father died six years ago."
"So everyone keeps saying."
The room fell deathly quiet.
At the same time...
Sarah sat with Bella inside Arthur's private office.
Dr. Levin finished checking the little girl's heartbeat.
"She's stable."
Sarah stroked Bella's hair carefully, avoiding the burned section.
"You saved my life."
Bella didn't answer.
She simply leaned against Sarah's shoulder.
For the first time in years...
She looked peaceful.
Sarah smiled softly.
"I'll never leave you."
Bella slowly reached into the pocket of her dress.
She pulled out a tiny folded piece of paper.
Sarah frowned.
"What's this?"
Bella opened it herself.
It was a child's drawing.
Crayons.
Stick figures.
A house.
A black car.
A woman lying on the ground.
Sarah's smile disappeared.
One figure stood beside the woman.
Long black hair.
A diamond necklace.
Another figure hid behind a tree.
Holding something long.
Sarah's blood ran cold.
A rifle.
She looked at the date written in the corner.
Two years ago.
"Bella..."
"When did you draw this?"
Bella pointed toward herself.
Then toward the ceiling.
Then covered her ears.
Sarah understood.
"The night your mommy died..."
Bella nodded.
Tears rolled silently down her cheeks.
Sarah hugged her tightly.
"You've remembered this all along."
Bella buried her face against Sarah.
She hadn't forgotten.
She had been too terrified to tell anyone.
On the rooftop...
Arthur kicked open the access door.
Rain lashed across the slate tiles.
The sniper was gone.
Only an abandoned rifle remained.
The head of security examined it.
"Recently fired."
Arthur walked to the edge.
Far below, flashing police lights approached the estate gates.
At last.
The police.
But instead of relief...
Arthur felt something else.
Bella's words echoed in his mind.
Don't trust the police.
Emily's letter.
The voicemail.
Everything pointed to the same warning.
His phone vibrated.
Unknown Number.
Arthur answered immediately.
"Who is this?"
A distorted electronic voice spoke.
"Mr. Sterling..."
Arthur remained silent.
"If you hand that USB to the police..."
"...your daughter dies before sunrise."
The line went dead.
Arthur stared at the screen.
Then slowly lowered the phone.
The head of security approached.
"The police are here."
Arthur looked toward the flashing lights outside the gates.
For years he had believed law enforcement was the safest place to turn.
Now...
He didn't know whether they were coming to save his family—
Or finish what someone had started two years earlier.
Down below, six police vehicles rolled through the gates of Sterling Mansion.
Arthur noticed something strange immediately.
There were six vehicles.
But only five had activated emergency lights.
The sixth black SUV entered the estate in complete silence.
No siren.
No flashing lights.
No police markings.
Yet the guards at the front gate saluted it without hesitation.
Arthur whispered to himself,
"Who are you?"
Inside the black SUV, a gray-haired man in an immaculate charcoal suit watched the mansion through tinted glass.
He smiled faintly.
Then said to the driver,
"It's time."
"Bring me my son."
Arthur had never seen the man's face before.
May you like
But somewhere deep inside...
He felt an inexplicable sense of familiarity.
